Christian Nicolai is executive director of Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), a role he has held since March 2015. CONICYT is a Chilean government agency responsible for coordinating, promoting and aiding scientific research in the country.

In recent years, Nicolai has worked as a consultant and advisor on regulatory affairs and public policy in the areas of Information and communication technology, management in both the public and private sectors, strategic planning and management control, both in Chile and abroad. 

From 2008 to 2012 he was the director of the Tecnolimpia Program at the National Council for Clean Production. Additionally, between 2008 and 2010, he was chairman of the board of CIMM Technologicas y Servicios S.A., a company that offers services to the mining sector. Prior to that, Nicolai worked at Economic Commissions for Latin America and the Caribbean on various information and communications technology projects within the division of productive development.

In March 2000, President of the Chile, Ricardo Lagos, appointed Nicolai as undersecretary for telecommunications, where he served until 2006. Nicolai also has worked for various telecommunications companies including ENTEL Chile and at Telefonica Chile where he held various high-level positions including manager of Telefonica Mundo, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Telefonica Chile, general manager of INTERCOM and vice president of multimedia network, among others.

Nicolai graduated with an electrical civil engineer degree, certified in business management, from the Universidad de Chile where he also worked as an academician at the electrical engineering department.